Fertilizin’ Eggs (-120)
The Pie Pie Strikes Back (-120)
Over 6.0 Goals (-120)
Under 6.0 Goals (-120)
Notes: Two of the final four teams from last season, both projected to be contenders once again this season, face off in their season openers as the newly christened Fertilizin’ Eggs (graphic, gross) take on The Pie Pie Strikes Back (epic, exciting). The yellow team is trying out a crazy new draft strategy in which they have almost zero middle round picks, trading a ton of their depth away for the right to pair Ryan with Andrew and Sonj. Of course, with a top five that also includes Pete and Tommy, that top unit is as good as any in the league but Team Pie Pie is in many ways their opposite, built around depth at every position. That said, Ken won’t be around for this one and it’ll be overall difficult to capture the special energy bordering on magic of that first season when Pie Pie looked unstoppable most games. Underrated subplot: orange playing against their backup goalie Ryan who will take over between the pipes once Jeff flees the country next week. I see this game as too close to call with the final outcome likely dependent on the goalies. It’s still tough to take any yellow under until we’ve seen how their 2nd/3rd lines do, but that’s probably the lean.
Sex Education (-1.5 Goals) (-230)
My Cup Size Is Stanley (+1.5 Goals) (+150)
Over 6.0 Goals (-130)
Under 6.0 Goals (-110)
Notes: Cup Size got off to a hot start to the season with two wins and, more importantly for league gamblers, two covers on Friday night. Wins of 6-2 and 4-1 vault them into 1st place and now they get a rematch against the franchise that eliminated them from the playoffs in an instant classic from last season. That said, those first two wins were against two of the bottom three teams in the power ranks and tonight they’ll have to do it without Hogg who signed up for a Tuesday league despite being mostly unavailable Tuesdays. He’ll give them a huge boost in the off-day games that he’s available and the playoffs, but they will likely struggle when he’s out of the lineup. Blue has issues of their own with multiple players out again tonight and Chad listed as a GTD. If he plays, this should be a multigoal win. If he doesn’t, he’s on the trade block. Either way, lay it with Sex Ed.
Reds N’ Roses (+1.5 Goals) (+200)
Fertilizin’ Eggs (-1.5 Goals) (-325)
Over 6.0 Goals (-135)
Under 6.0 Goals (-105)
Notes: Red picked up a much needed win in game two of their doubleheader the other night but they will have a much tougher task repeating that feat tonight against a full strength Egg team. Maybe if APK takes some steroids – Hicks can probably supply him. Once again it really comes down to what yellow’s 2nd and 3rd units look like which is the million dollar question of their season. If they’re able to at least keep pace with the opposition and let their first unit dominate, this is going to be a really tough team to beat. If those units get caved in possession on every shift they’ll struggle in every game. I’m still going to install yellow as multigoal favorites but a bet on red could be sneaky good if their depth is able to outscore yellow’s.
Silver Stallions (+2.0 Goals) (+200)
Sex Education (-2.0 Goals) (-320)
Over 6.5 Goals (-145)
Under 6.5 Goals (EVEN)
Notes: Tough times for the Stallions, already, as Tom is out, Reid is a last minute out and their lineup for the west coast game is even rougher than for this one. Of course, the lines for both games largely center around whether Chad can make it or not as there’s some ridiculous DJ pop up that he’s waiting out in Brooklyn. He’s a great player but this is the dark side of taking this sicko on your team – your lineup is perpetually at the mercy of random Brooklyn DJ popups. I’m still taking Sex Ed to lay down their second lesson of the evening.
The MilkMob (-120)
The Mighty Ducks (-120)
Over 6.5 Goals (-130)
Under 6.5 Goals (-110)
Notes: A really tough game to project as the Ducks are 1-0 after a shootout win Friday night capped off by a Simon full clap bomb on the penalty shot (awesome), but I also think this is going to be the most solid MilkMob squad probably ever. With Hicks and KG in the draft room, they weren’t able to just draft every player from past seasons in early rounds no matter the cost; they actually went for value and ended up with a strong squad top to bottom, assuming everyone gels. The Ducks looked good on Friday night but that was also a skeleton crew of maybe 7 players plus a few subs; tonight will be the first look at a semi-full roster. I really dont know what to expect and am rating this one as a total toss-up.
Purple Nurple (-600)
Silver Stallions (+320)
Over 7.0 Goals (-175)
Under 7.0 Goals (+130)
Notes: Both of these teams marked on the preseason poll that they would prefer a west coast game if it meant they could dodge a Friday or a flex game. Well, here we are, staying at the rink til late on a Tuesday night that isn’t even particularly warm. Should be electric. With no idea who’s showing up for purple or who’s staying for silver, I’m just throwing up a straight moneyline with a highly aggressive total and calling it a day. See ya tonight.